Poll: Rand Paul leads GOP pack in Iowa

Paul was most popular with voters who identify as 'very conservative.' | AP Photo

By REBECCA ELLIOTT | 7/11/13 3:18 PM EDT

Iowa Republicans want Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the White House in 2016, a new poll finds.

Eighteen percent of Iowa Republicans say they would most like to see Paul as the GOP candidate 2016, according to a poll by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling out Thursday. The survey tested Paul and eight other potential Republican presidential hopefuls. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came in a close second with 16 percent, followed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) at 15 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 14 percent.

Paul was most popular with voters who identify as “very conservative” and also led among men and young voters. PPP last polled Iowa in February, when Rubio led the Republican pack by 5 points.

In the general election, however, Hillary Clinton is favored ahead of all Republican candidates. She leads Christie by 7 percentage points, Ryan by 9 and Paul by 11.

The poll of 668 Iowa voters, including 260 Democratic primary voters and 250 Republican primary voters, was conducted July 5-7. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, and 6.1 and 6.2 percentage points for the Democratic and Republican primary polls, respectively.